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It was two years ago today that I applied for a job at the University of Sheffield. Disheartened and ready to give up on my career, I put barely any effort into it -- literally recycling an old application.
Goodness, how my world has changed since -- and how grateful I am to two-years-ago-me for taking one last chance.
I realise that I've become a much more boring person over the past year and a half. Less social, with fewer adventures to write about. Do I regret this? Nope. Having finally obtained my dream job, I have thrown myself into it wholeheartedly.
Sometimes I get asked what the research / teaching balance in my role is. I smile and say: "My contract is 35 hours per week... so I do 35 hours of teaching, and 35 hours of research." It's a joke, except that it isn't. That is pretty close to accurate, actually. Some weeks[*] end up being quite a bit more, others can sometimes be a bit less, but 70 hours per week is probably a realistic average.
I organised my first international conference last year: The 11th Conference on the Identification of Dark Matter. My first conference as lead organiser is coming up in two months: The Institute of Physics annual Astro-Particle Physics and High Energy Particle Physics conference.
People keep forgetting that I've been in the role for only 1.X years. I've bedded into the department, the faculty, and the university so well, it seems like I've been there a lot longer. We have a couple of lecturers hired after me; one was rather surprised to learn I'd only been in the department a year longer than him. It's going well enough that I'm looking to complete probation -- effectively equivalent of 'making tenure' in the USA -- this Summer, a year earlier than normal. (Then it's on to Senior Lecturer -- equivalent to an Associate Professor in the USA as quickly as possible!)
Despite only teaching for three semesters, I have already won an award for "Sustained Excellence in Teaching". (Those of you who have heard me do outreach talks will not be surprised. No false modesty here; I am very good at teaching.) In addition to my undergraduate teaching in the department at Sheffield, I also co-teach science communication to Masters students at the Faculty of Science level and teach at our new outpost in Nanjing. And I was tagged by the Faculty Director of Teaching to be part of a new educational leadership exchange programme.
Meanwhile, I have PhD students on three continents right now -- one is presenting his work on supernovae in Japan next week, one is building hardware in Switzerland this month, and one is living at Fermilab and rocking the Accelerator Neutrino-Nucleus Interaction Experiment (or ANNIE). I'm kinda psyched for 2019, when my very first PhD student graduates. I was super proud introducing him to CK last year, who was my PhD supervisor. In academic-speak, I was introducing my "son" to his "grandfather".
It's not just my department or my faculty. I've thrown myself into the wider univeristy as well. Last Summer, I walked a personal record of 130 miles as part of The Big Walk to raise money for refugee students. Thanks to our efforts, six refugees will be brought to the University to do postgraduate degrees -- fully funded, with maintenance money. The refugee crisis is overwhelming, but I'm proud to have done some small part to alleviate it.
(By the way, if you want to donate, my JustGiving page is still open until the end of March -- just click here!)
And, of course, the research proceeds apace. I'm involved in a number of experiments in both Japan and at Fermilab... plus I recently joined the WATCHMAN project -- that's the WATer CHerenkov Monitor for AntiNeutrinos. It's not a particle physics experiment -- it is applied particle physics. The goal is to use antineutrinos for nuclear non-proliferation and threat reduction. Right now, I'm pushing hard on the effort to get the WATCHMAN prototype built here in Yorkshire.
So, yeah, that's my life. Toldja I had become boring. In a typical week, whatever time doesn't go into the job goes into the House of the Red Roses. Or my beloved![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cheshcat. Or Stumpy & Giles, who make sure to demand their share of attention.[**]
I'll try to LJ more in 2017, though. At the very least, I should make it so my landing page of most recent 20 entries is all from the same year! Maybe next time, I should post some pics of the House of the Red Roses.[***]
Meanwhile, on this anniversary of my application, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on just how lucky I am, and how grateful for this opportunity. Also glad that so many of you are actually still on LJ -- huzzah for the faithful!
Right. Bedtime now. I've a lecture on time-dependent quantum states to deliver in the morning, followed by conference organising, then running an analysis meeting. Whee!
[*] Like this one -- being the start of a new semester!
[**] Like Stumpy is actually doing right at this very moment, looking to hop in my lap! (ETA: Now in my lap! Which makes it hard to type...)
[***] Those of you for whom I have an address may have already seen it with the Yule cards we sent out in December.
Goodness, how my world has changed since -- and how grateful I am to two-years-ago-me for taking one last chance.
I realise that I've become a much more boring person over the past year and a half. Less social, with fewer adventures to write about. Do I regret this? Nope. Having finally obtained my dream job, I have thrown myself into it wholeheartedly.
Sometimes I get asked what the research / teaching balance in my role is. I smile and say: "My contract is 35 hours per week... so I do 35 hours of teaching, and 35 hours of research." It's a joke, except that it isn't. That is pretty close to accurate, actually. Some weeks[*] end up being quite a bit more, others can sometimes be a bit less, but 70 hours per week is probably a realistic average.
I organised my first international conference last year: The 11th Conference on the Identification of Dark Matter. My first conference as lead organiser is coming up in two months: The Institute of Physics annual Astro-Particle Physics and High Energy Particle Physics conference.
People keep forgetting that I've been in the role for only 1.X years. I've bedded into the department, the faculty, and the university so well, it seems like I've been there a lot longer. We have a couple of lecturers hired after me; one was rather surprised to learn I'd only been in the department a year longer than him. It's going well enough that I'm looking to complete probation -- effectively equivalent of 'making tenure' in the USA -- this Summer, a year earlier than normal. (Then it's on to Senior Lecturer -- equivalent to an Associate Professor in the USA as quickly as possible!)
Despite only teaching for three semesters, I have already won an award for "Sustained Excellence in Teaching". (Those of you who have heard me do outreach talks will not be surprised. No false modesty here; I am very good at teaching.) In addition to my undergraduate teaching in the department at Sheffield, I also co-teach science communication to Masters students at the Faculty of Science level and teach at our new outpost in Nanjing. And I was tagged by the Faculty Director of Teaching to be part of a new educational leadership exchange programme.
Meanwhile, I have PhD students on three continents right now -- one is presenting his work on supernovae in Japan next week, one is building hardware in Switzerland this month, and one is living at Fermilab and rocking the Accelerator Neutrino-Nucleus Interaction Experiment (or ANNIE). I'm kinda psyched for 2019, when my very first PhD student graduates. I was super proud introducing him to CK last year, who was my PhD supervisor. In academic-speak, I was introducing my "son" to his "grandfather".
It's not just my department or my faculty. I've thrown myself into the wider univeristy as well. Last Summer, I walked a personal record of 130 miles as part of The Big Walk to raise money for refugee students. Thanks to our efforts, six refugees will be brought to the University to do postgraduate degrees -- fully funded, with maintenance money. The refugee crisis is overwhelming, but I'm proud to have done some small part to alleviate it.
(By the way, if you want to donate, my JustGiving page is still open until the end of March -- just click here!)
And, of course, the research proceeds apace. I'm involved in a number of experiments in both Japan and at Fermilab... plus I recently joined the WATCHMAN project -- that's the WATer CHerenkov Monitor for AntiNeutrinos. It's not a particle physics experiment -- it is applied particle physics. The goal is to use antineutrinos for nuclear non-proliferation and threat reduction. Right now, I'm pushing hard on the effort to get the WATCHMAN prototype built here in Yorkshire.
So, yeah, that's my life. Toldja I had become boring. In a typical week, whatever time doesn't go into the job goes into the House of the Red Roses. Or my beloved
cheshcat. Or Stumpy & Giles, who make sure to demand their share of attention.[**]I'll try to LJ more in 2017, though. At the very least, I should make it so my landing page of most recent 20 entries is all from the same year! Maybe next time, I should post some pics of the House of the Red Roses.[***]
Meanwhile, on this anniversary of my application, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on just how lucky I am, and how grateful for this opportunity. Also glad that so many of you are actually still on LJ -- huzzah for the faithful!
Right. Bedtime now. I've a lecture on time-dependent quantum states to deliver in the morning, followed by conference organising, then running an analysis meeting. Whee!
[*] Like this one -- being the start of a new semester!
[**] Like Stumpy is actually doing right at this very moment, looking to hop in my lap! (ETA: Now in my lap! Which makes it hard to type...)
[***] Those of you for whom I have an address may have already seen it with the Yule cards we sent out in December.
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From:
no subject
I am proud that I know you! :-)
From:
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I suppose I should figure out something to share at the Sooper Sekrit Gathering come October, huh?
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From:
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Alternatively, I could talk about something that I've never personally worked on... but one of my colleagues at Sheffield does: Gravitational waves.
They made a big splash last year, as I'm sure you know, and I strongly suspect that they will be back in the news in October. If I were a betting man, I would put money on them to win the 2016 Nobel Physics Prize.
From:
no subject
[*] Of course, I'd attend a lecture you gave even if was about whether to stir the sugar into your coffee in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction - and I don't even drink coffee!.
From:
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From:
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(Of course, as I write this, there is snow falling outside of the House of the Red Roses. But that too shall pass...)
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From:
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Doing what you love is never boring! I am so happy for you and I look forward to forcing you to take a vacation next year.
From:
no subject
You are absolutely right. I am not at all bored... I just think perhaps I may have become boring. Far fewer adventures to read about. I spent my Friday night writing a killer quantum mechanics homework for my undergrads to do next week. Rather proud of it, too -- I did a damn fine job of it.
Following up this excitement will be a Saturday of marking thermodynamics final exams for the students I taught in Nanjing. Then Sunday will be focused on writing parts of the WATCHMAN proposal ('cuz we kinda need $30 million to get it built!).
So, yes, I definitely love my job... but I think I'm going to love being "forced" on vacation with you next year. Can't wait to see you then, sweetie... and in October, too! *smile*